IFSC block sold for almost €16m

Another of the original office buildings in Dublin's International Financial Services Centre has been sold to Irish Life in an off-market transaction for €15,850,000.

At least two other blocks which were also developed by Hardwicke and British Land in the 1990s are also apparently being offered for sale privately now that their owners have availed of the capital allowances that were originally offered as an incentive.

Irish Life's latest acquisition, Number 3 George's Dock, was bought from a consortium believed to have been originally assembled by investment manager Derek Quinlan. It was built in 1996 and has a floor area of some 2,400sq m (25,833sq ft) over five levels and more than 20 car parking spaces.

The red brick block was originally occupied by NCB Stockbrokers who were taken over in 2000 by Investec. NCB's 120 staff relocated in recent years to the Investec staff quarters on Harcourt Street. NCB is thought to have had a 25 year lease on the building which would not be due to run out until 2021. However, most of the space has been sub let and is understood to be bringing in rents of more than €1.5 million per annum.

Irish Life are also believed to be in negotiations to let the remainder of the available space which would probably attract rents of at least €215 per sq m (€20 per sq ft), less than half the going rate for newly developed buildings in Docklands.The move to fill vacant space would suggest that the new owners have no immediate plans to carry out an internal upgrading of the building.

Irish Life's acquisition of the IFSC block comes after Hibernia REIT bought no fewer than four buildings in the same area. It paid €47 million for New Century House where Bank of Ireland Group are tenants and later went on to pay €90.75 million for two adjoining Grade A blocks, Guild House and Commerzbank House, which have a combined floor space of 13,400sq m (144,250sq ft).

A month later it forked out €37.8 million for The Forum building which was developed in 2003 and has 4,376sq m of offices (47,109sq ft) as well as four floors of car park space.